


Nothing better than this

by thisfrailheart



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, James' Birthday, mention of alcohol and being drunk, something cute and fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 20:13:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14119911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisfrailheart/pseuds/thisfrailheart
Summary: A little story about some of James' favorite birthdays.





	Nothing better than this

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is a little something I came up with while cleaning. I originally posted it on my tumblr for James' birthday but wanted to upload it here as well. It's not supposed to be anything more than a fun read.  
> I hope you enjoy!

James had had a few good birthdays in his life so far.

  
When he’d turned seven, his parents had finally presented him with a children’s broom for his birthday. He’d been badgering them for months and they’d finally caved and bought him one. His father had taken him out into the garden to try out his new gift. James had jumped onto the broom and slipped right off again because he hadn’t known how to balance his weight yet. He’d fallen into the soft grass and his mother had gasped and the whole experiment had almost ended there, but Fleamont had calmed Euphemia down with a few whispered words. Then his father had helped him back on the broom. James had flown a few rounds in the garden and his father had walked next to him, ready to catch him if something went wrong. Afterward, there had been cake and James had been absolutely sure that it had been the best birthday ever.

  
On his ninth birthday, his mum and dad had taken him to Diagon Alley to buy him a pet. Fleamont had insisted James was now old enough to take on a bit more responsibility, though Euphemia had not been convinced. A few days before the 27th, his father had finally been able to persuade his mother. He’d commented that everything would go a lot smoother at Hogwarts if James learned how to take care of an owl  _before_ he went away to school. So after a hearty birthday breakfast, the Potters had made their way to the Magical Menagerie. James had been to Diagon Alley before but this time was definitely different. This time, he was getting a pet! He had skipped around the store, looking into all the cages and tanks. His mother had been on the brink of losing her mind because she’d been worried he’d get bit, but it had turned out that James was quite a natural with the animals. He’d almost gone home with a pet rat that day but had eventually decided to have a look at Eeylops window before he made his choice. In the end, he’d fallen in love with a Tawny Owl. The shopkeeper had explained how to care for his new owl and they’d left with the bird and bags of treats and supplies. The rest of the day had been spent eating cake and thinking about names for his new friend. In the evening he’d lain in bed, talking to his owl, now named Theia. He had been telling her about the fact that this was surely the best birthday ever until he’d finally fallen asleep.

  
His twelfth birthday had begun in the middle of the night. His dorm mates had woken him up by screaming “Happy Birthday” in his ear. They hadn’t known each other all that well back then. After all, they’d only met a few months ago, when they were sorted into Gryffindor. That night, they’d sat together after being much too excited to go back to sleep. And he’d thought, for the first time, that they might become friends. They’d played the Daily Prophet game for hours. It was a favorite pastime among Hogwarts students. One would swap words in newspaper articles with ‘bum’ and then try to figure out who’d made up the funniest one. They’d laughed about it until their bellies hurt. And then they’d munched on some of the biscuits James’ mother had sent by owl a few days prior. And in the morning, after a night with very little sleep, they’d leaned on each other during breakfast, trying to stuff bacon in their mouths without having to open their eyes. During class, they’d come to each other’s rescue, taking turns with taking notes so they could also take turns resting their very tired eyes. Sometime before dinner that night, James had answered his parents’ owl. He told them all about the three boys that had now become his best friends. When James went to bed that night, he fell asleep thinking that this was the best birthday he’d ever had. He was sure of it.

When James had turned seventeen, his best friends had thrown him a secret birthday party in the Hogwarts kitchens. They’d eaten cake all night and gotten drunk off of the Firewhisky that Sirius had somehow snuck into the castle. They had danced on the tables and fallen off of them, too. They’d gossiped about the Slytherins and made up jokes and thought of new pranks. And James had had a little whine about Lily because apparently he ‘loved her too much’. When he’d woken up on the floor the next morning, his head on Sirius’ chest and his feet in Peter’s lap and his hand holding Remus’, he’d been surer than ever before: this had been the best birthday ever.  
  


~  
  


On his twenty-first birthday, James woke up to the sound of a baby’s giggle. A second later, he could feel a weight being placed on his chest and a small, wet hand patting his mouth. James slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at his son. 

“Good morning, Harry. Did you sleep well?” Harry gurgled and drooled onto his shirt in response and James turned to glance at Lily. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“It’s your birthday. I wanted to let you sleep in. And there’s nothing we can do about his teething anyway…we’ll have to take it as it comes. You know that, James.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over to kiss him. “Happy birthday, love.”

“Thank you. Now, …where’s my cake?” That was only somewhat of a joke.

Lily laughed and playfully slapped his shoulder. “I’ll bake you ten cakes if you move over and let me take a short nap right here, right now.”

James chuckled and wriggled his body towards the middle of the bed. He was careful not to dislodge baby Harry from his chest, who was now trying to grab his hair. Lily slid under the covers and snuggled close to James. 

“Oh, right”, Lily mumbled, already half asleep. She pulled her wand out from under the covers. “Accio James’ birthday present.”

A small box came flying into the room. James sat up a little and gingerly placed Harry on the bed next to him so he could catch the box. He lifted the lid, always keeping an eye on Harry, of course. 

The box contained a birthday card and a stack of photographs. The first photo showed James and Sirius with similar expressions on their faces and shot glasses in their hands. They were trying to breathe through the burn of the Whisky. The next one revealed Remus, Peter, Lily and Marlene, poring over homework. They were sighing and rolling their eyes and arguing. The third one showed Sirius dressed as Ziggy Stardust, doing a little twirl. 

Laughing, James put the pictures aside and picked up the card. The design on the front was magical. It played a little clip of a wand emitting sparks which spelled out the words “Happy Birthday”. He opened it and immediately recognized Remus’ meticulous handwriting.

_Prongs, even when we’re not there, we’re always with you_

Remus, Sirius and Peter had all signed it. Sirius had added a little note of his own. He’d mentioned how sorry he was that James “had to read Moony’s poetic rubbish even though he’s right of course”.

James smiled. He put the photographs and card back into the box and levitated it onto his nightstand. Then he cradled Harry to his side, kissed Lily’s temple and sighed. 

As bad as things were right now and as scared as he was, he saw a glimmer of hope shine on the horizon. Closing his eyes, he remembered all the birthdays he’d celebrated. One party better than the last.

But even though there was no cake and no new broom, even though nobody had taken him to get that snowy owl he so desperately wanted, well…

James had had a few good birthdays in his life so far. 

**_And he couldn’t imagine a better birthday than this one._  **


End file.
